So, you’ve finally decided to change up your lifestyle by including a regular skincare routine after getting tired of having acne and blackheads appearing on your skin. It can be pretty overwhelming if it’s your first time, especially when you have no clue what to do. Fret not – we’re here to help you conquer your skin with a basic skincare routine that works for almost anyone! 

Benefits of having a basic skincare routine

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1. Maintains healthy skin

Did you know your skin actually acts as a barrier to protect against harsh weather conditions, possible infections and harmful substances lingering around the air? By keeping your skin healthy, you’ll remove all the dirt, germs and dead skin and prevent any potential bacteria from appearing.

2. Improves your mental health

Other than the obvious major perk of creating a basic skincare routine – which is to have healthy skin – maintaining a basic skincare routine is also a way to have better mental health. Since a basic skincare routine is a form of self-care, you’ll be in a positive mood knowing you made yourself a priority above all else.

3. Boosts our confidence and self-esteem

Our skin is the first thing people see. By having good skin, it gives off an impression that you take good care of yourself. Not only that, every time you practise good skincare habits of skincare, you’ll feel your skin becoming softer and smoother, and it’ll push all your insecurities away!

4. Develop good habits and reduce bad ones

Without a doubt, we all have our own bad habits in which affects our overall lifestyle. If you are able to start a good habit by maintaining a basic skincare routine on a daily basis, you’ll feel more confident to conquer the next bad habit and eventually replace all of them with good ones! After all, having good habits helps you to live a better life while making you happier in the long run.

Things to know before starting a basic skincare routine

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First and foremost, before you start a skincare routine, you must determine your skin type. This is essential because an effective skincare routine depends heavily on how you are treating your skin based on its behaviour and concerns. Sometimes, all you need is probably fewer products than what others are using. Here are the different skin types:

  1. Dry skin: This skin type is when your skin is dry, patchy, flaky while feeling a bit tight and lack of sebum production. 
  2. Oily skin: This skin type is when your skin looks shiny, producing an excess amount of sebum.
  3. Sensitive skin: This skin type is when your skin looks red and itchy, with some burning sensations when interacting with different environments.  
  4. Combination skin: This skin type is when your skin has a combination of both dry and oily skin. To identify if you have combination skin, you’ll notice your cheeks are often dry whereas your T-zone (nose, forehead and chin) are oily. 
  5. Normal skin: This skin type is literally as it is when your skin is normal and healthy. Only a few manage to have normal skin when everything is well-balanced. 

Aside from figuring out what is your skin type, you have to know that everybody has their own skincare routine that works for them. Though you could follow these basic skincare routine steps, use them as a starting point and eventually adjust as time goes by.

Once you’re more familiar with how your skin works, you could either add some new steps or remove some. Maintaining a basic skincare routine also depends on your daily schedule – we don’t have a routine that takes too much of our time! We’ll just end up skipping it entirely, which is something most of us face.

5 basic skincare routine steps

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Step #1: Cleanse

We can’t stress enough how important it is to cleanse your face at least twice a day.

When you cleanse your face using a facial cleanser in the morning, you will be removing sebum and sweat that build up overnight while sleeping.

During evening or night, you’ll be removing all your other skincare products or make up applied earlier in the day, alongside other excess sweat, oil and dead skin cells. Some prefer to do double cleansing at night but it really depends on your skin.

Choosing the right cleanser for different skin types 

Dry skin: The recommended cleanser for dry skin would be gel, cream or lotion which helps to keep your skin hydrated and fresh due to the glycerin or shea butter that are part of the ingredients. Oil cleansers work well too.

Those who have oily skin would be foaming liquid which helps to prevent any excess sebum from being excreted while also breaking down any dirt stuck in your pores.

Combination skin: For combination skin types, the best cleanser would be a micellar cleanser or a gentle cleanser that will balance both sides which is oily and dry.

Sensitive skin: Oil cleansers are recommended for those with sensitive skin such as coconut, avocado, jojoba, to name a few.

All skin types: For an easier option, you can opt for micellar water as it works for all skin types. It is after all, basically water, that contains molecules that help to break down excess oil and dirt without leaving it dry.

Step #2: Tone

Many people may skip this step as they think cleansers are sufficient enough to remove all the dirt on your face. However, most skincare enthusiasts would say the same thing – toner is essential as the second step after cleansing to restore the pH balance of your skin, allowing better absorption for other skincare products.

Choosing the right toner for different skin types 

Dry skin: Look for toners with the following ingredients – amino acids and fermented yeast.

Oily skin: A salicylic acid-based toner would be best for oily skin.

Combination skin: Lactic acid-based toners work great for those with combination skin.

Sensitive skin: For those who have sensitive skin, it would be best to look for toners with aloe vera or algae.

Step #3: Apply serum

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Applying serums is actually one of the optional basic skincare routine steps, but there is no harm in including it when you first start to see if it helps your skin. You can, however, choose to exclude this step if you want to shorten your basic skincare routine when you first start out.

Serums contain concentrated formulas which are suitable for specific skin problems such as dark spots, acne, and so on. It’s also why serums tend to be a little more expensive compared to other skincare products.

Choosing the right serum for different skin types 

Dry skin: Hydrating serums are suitable for those with dry skin.

Oily skin: You might think those with oily skin shouldn’t use a hydrating serum as it is mainly used for dry skin, but those with oily skin can also benefit from them as it has less emollient residue.

Combination skin: Vitamin C serums are great for those with combination skin.

Sensitive skin: Calming serums work the best for those with sensitive skin.

All skin types: Antioxidant and anti-aging serums work great for all skin types. However, bear in mind some of the antioxidant serums come with several ingredients which might irritate your skin, depending on your skin type.

Step #4: Moisturise

It is extremely important to ensure you are moisturising your skin as it helps to keep it hydrated all day long, preventing inflammation or irritation. Ever wondered why you have frequent breakouts or itchiness? That’s because your skin lacks moisture!

Choosing the right moisturizer for different skin types 

Dry skin: Moisturising creams that are thick and oil-based would work great for those with dry skin.

Oily skin: Look out for moisturisers with the ingredient non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores). It helps those with oily skin by making sure your pores won’t clog and develop acne. Gel moisturizers are often water-based which makes them suitable for oily skin.

Combination skin: Oil-free, lotion and serum moisturizers are great for those with combination skin.

Sensitive skin: A lightweight and fragrance-free moisturiser will help prevent irritation that regularly occurs with sensitive skin.

Step #5: Apply sunscreen

The sun is always shining no matter where you are – causing damage to your skin! You may want to exclude other basic skincare routine steps, but you can’t miss out on applying sunscreen. The damage caused by the sun could not only make you darker but also cause skin cancer. Notice wrinkles and various lines on your face? Sunscreen helps to prevent these from appearing!

Note: you should apply a sunscreen even on a cloudy day because UV rays can penetrate through the clouds (and your window!) to continue meting out damage on your skin.

Choosing the right sunscreen for different skin types 

Dry skin: It is recommended for those with dry skin to consider a moisturising sunscreen cream, which is a two-in-one. Otherwise, look for a sunscreen with any of these ingredients: glycerin, ceramides, honey and hyaluronic acid. 

Oily skin: Look out for sunscreen with alcohol or gel in their formula. Broad-spectrum protection also helps those with oily skin as it has a less greasy texture.

Combination skin: A light-weight sunscreen works best for those with combination skin to prevent your T-zone from being even more oily.

Sensitive skin: Avoid buying sunscreen with ingredients that could irritate your sensitive skin such as alcohol, cinnamates, fragrances, to name a few. A mineral sunscreen containing titanium dioxide or zinc oxide would be suitable without irritating your skin.